Power driven equipment, which may include lawn mowers for example, is frequently equipped with a handle assembly which may be pivotable. For space saving purposes, the aforementioned power equipment may be equipped with a handle assembly that can be reversed or “flipped-over” onto the deck of the power equipment. In a conventional mower, for example, a pivoting handle assembly is attached to the deck of the mower through a plurality of separate structure components, which may include mounting brackets, bolts, nuts, and other hardware which must be assembled together to extend the handle to an operational position. Removal of the handle in the abovementioned example, for storage purposes, is time consuming and tedious process since disassembly is required. Further, a user may incorrectly assemble or disassemble the handle when storing the equipment, which may pose safety concerns.
In order to overcome the abovementioned disadvantages, handle towers and pivot pin mounts have been integrated into the deck housing of the mower, which may eliminate the need for assembly of separate handle mounting and support brackets, which are installed on most mower decks. Accordingly, the handle may be mounted to the mower deck via a bracket that is intended to be permanently fixed to the mower deck and the handle itself may be configured to be pivotable about the bracket. The aforementioned configuration allows the handle to pivot at the bracket, fold down toward the deck of the mower in a storage position, and fold up away from the deck of the mower to an extended or in-use position.
However, the aforementioned configurations cause the handle to rest on the mower deck and/or on the engine and/or accessories of the mower. Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a mechanism for limiting the rotation a handle when the handle is placed in a stored position. Further, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a mechanism for securely locating a handle with relation to the bracket, connecting the handle to the mower deck in the extended or in-use position.